Gianni Versace founded the Versace fashion house in 1978 which produces men and women wear as well as accessories, makeup, home designs and fragrances. After his death in 1997, the company was run by his sister, Donatella Versace, who is both vice-president and chief designer. Her daughter, Allegra, inherited 50% of the stock after her uncle’s death.

Versace is famous for being represented and worn by celebrities. Elizabeth Hurley’s black Versace dress and Jennifer Lopez’s green-jungle dress have both received incredible media attention for being sexy and scandalous. Versace also coined and spread the phenomenon of the “supermodel” in the 90s by casting every famous fashion model for the 1991/1992 Autumn-Winter show. The company also has a real-estate property: a luxurious five-star hotel, Palazzo Versace, in Australia, whose twin is being planned to be built in Dubai.

Versace offers a variety of fragrances. The first one ever created was Gianni Versace for Women, released in 1981. Another perfume named after the family is Versace Woman, which opens with a romantic scent of frangipani flower, wild rose and bergamot, to rest on a base of musk and amber. Yellow Diamond is a sweet and sour fragrance for women, where accords of lemon and pear sorbet unify with the orange blossom and delicate water lily. For casual wear, Versace launched Red Jeans in 1994. This fragrance is intensely floral, sweetened by a touch of vanilla. Gianni Versace’s muse has always been his sister Donatella and launched a perfume called “Blonde”, dedicated to her. She then gave it her own diffusion label, Versus, that is now a best-seller. It is a flowery fragrance blended with delicate notes of amber and musk.